Global Continental Residual Topography from Crustal Structure Analysis

A 2024 study by Stephenson et al. provides 4,120 new measurements of continental residual topography, excluding Antarctica. The data is derived from a global inventory of 26,725 crustal thickness estimates and a parameterization based on 1,136 laboratory measurements. It is accompanied by the SeisCruST database and software for converting seismic velocity to density.

Use Cases

• Modeling mantle convection patterns based on long-wavelength residual topography anomalies.
• Analyzing the relationship between crustal thickness variations and surface topography.
• Correlating residual topography with upper mantle seismic velocity anomalies or free-air gravity data.
• Investigating the role of lithospheric thickness variation in supporting continental topography.

Strengths

• Based on a large global inventory of 26,725 continental crustal thickness estimates.
• Uses a physical parameterization derived from 1,136 laboratory measurements of seismic velocity and density.
• Provides 4,120 specific measurements of residual topography with defined wavelength ranges (1,000–5,000 km).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the primary topographic database is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data excludes Antarctica, limiting global continental coverage.

Provenance

Source

Stephenson et al. (2024), Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, via Geoscience Australia Data.

Collection Method

Assembled from local seismological datasets and laboratory measurements, with corrections for crustal isostatic effects.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:28:29.917475; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global continents, excluding Antarctica.